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Naoji Kariya, Ryuken Sugawara, Gaojin Sumei, Naoharu Kariya, Junichiro Koizumi

For ages, the Yasukuni shrine of Tokyo, Japan has courted a tremendous amount of controversy for a ceremonial sword that it holds. Shinto Buddhists believe that the said weapon harbors some 2.4 millio... read more read more...n souls; as a result, the Japanese ascribe tremendous power to the blade and Japanese officers used it to lay waste to untold numbers of victims in 1930s Asia. The building and the weapon harbor tremendous personal significance for Chinese director Li Ying, given the torture inflicted by the Japanese soldiers on Chinese communists including his own father. With Ying's documentary Yasukuni, he visits the shrine and explores the violent history that belies the existence of the building and the sword, as Japanese Buddhists continue to gather at the site and honor their dead. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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52% liked it

146 ratings

Critics

89% liked it

9 critics

Unrated, 2 hr.

Directed by: Ying Li

Release Date: October 1, 2007

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Stats: 19 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (19)

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Critic Reviews

V.A. Musetto
August 14, 2009
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

The film is visually compelling, but suffers because [director] Li fails to put events into context, a fact likely to confuse viewers not versed in Japanese history. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
August 14, 2009
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

Directed by Chinese filmmaker Li Ying, it's an impressionistic documentary that concentrates on the Yasukuni shrine, a Japanese religious memorial to soldiers who died for the emperor. Full Review

A.O. Scott
August 12, 2009
A.O. Scott, New York Times

Yasukuni addresses a passionately contested snarl of issues with a calm, nuanced ethical curiosity.

Vadim Rizov
August 11, 2009
Vadim Rizov, Village Voice

The documentary's cultural impact is lost in translation -- Yasukuni initially had trouble getting shown at all in Japan -- but the skill of the enterprise isn't. Full Review

Keith Uhlich
August 12, 2009
Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York

The film is a trying yet worthwhile sit, not only for the information it relates, but for the sensations it elicits. Full Review

Chris Cabin
August 11, 2009
Chris Cabin, Filmcritic.com

It's impossible to watch Ying's film and not think of our own monuments towards heroism, which also come at the expense of blood Full Review

Maria Garcia
August 11, 2009
Maria Garcia, Film Journal International

A fascinating portrait of the dark side of Japanese society, Ying Li's film is not so much about Japan's shrine to its war dead as it is an indictment of Japan's wartime aggression. Full Review

Simon Abrams
August 10, 2009
Simon Abrams, Slant Magazine

Writer-director Li Ying should be commended for the complexity he's given a subject as controversial as the Yasukuni shrine. Full Review

Keith Uhlich
November 17, 2011
Keith Uhlich, Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

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